By: Robert Scott

All writers in Op Ed are here to inform and acknowledge issues of importance to our communities, however these writings represent the views  and opinions of the authors and not necessarily of The Advertiser.

The life experiences we all share include joys and sorrows, wonderful times and years like 2020 that try all our souls. We are ever thankful for family and friends and cherish them even more when times are difficult. Faced with life’s most profound questions, it is a very human reaction to search for answers when they most elude our gaze. There are many sources that help us in our search, including one’s Church and writings passed along to us by those who trod these same paths a decade, a lifetime, a millennium or two before we did. I have frequently looked to my Dad’s book of poetry which, in my view, he left to me as a guide to life.

Here is a short poem from that book, to share with the readers of The Edgefield Advertiserthis week.

Not in Vain

By Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain:

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.